Key Points

Please take a moment to review these points, reflect on their significance and consider how they apply to your own experiences.

Tick to confirm (optional):

• Identify injury - explanation mismatch, changing accounts and child reliance on parental cues as red flags.
• Use open, non-leading prompts; avoid promising confidentiality; assess and act on immediate safety risks.
• Record contemporaneous factual notes: verbatim statements, simple diagrams, dates and timelines; note inconsistencies objectively.
• Escalate promptly to the practice safeguarding lead and contact children's services for same‑day advice/referral when risk suspected.
• Consider urgent medical assessment for possible physical or ocular injury.
• For neglect, view patterns over time: document missed appointments, broken/untreated appliances and hygiene concerns with dates.
• Look at barriers to care respectfully and offer practical adjustments before escalation where appropriate.
• When needs remain unmet or risk persists, refer to children's services and notify relevant professionals (GP/school nurse) with minimum necessary information.